


In the Moonlight Deep

by jackabelle73



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Kelpies, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 09:58:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10964922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackabelle73/pseuds/jackabelle73
Summary: Facing an unwanted arranged marriage, Belle enlists the help of loyal friends and non-human strangers alike, to take charge of her own destiny.





	In the Moonlight Deep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MissieLynne](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=MissieLynne).



> For the 2017 May Day Menagerie fic exchange. A word about the non-con elements....those two scenes are brief and I don't consider them explicit, but tagged this fic with the warnings to be on the safe side. If anyone wants more details, feel free to message me here or on Tumblr, @jackabelle73, to discuss. Also, this fic is NOT kind to Zelena. If you're a fan of hers, please consider that warning before reading.

The sun had almost set, and the air was developing a bit of a bite to it. She should have brought a heavier coat, but couldn’t face the idea of going back home now. The thought of what was going on in there… a voice inside screamed that she should be present, as it was her future being decided.  But the truth was, neither man in that room planned to listen to her, and she knew it. So she may as well enjoy the sunset over the loch and avoid the whole sorry mess till tomorrow, when she would discover her fate.

Stepping carefully over the rocks that littered the trail, only dimly lit now from the last rays of sunlight, she made her way to the water and sat in her accustomed spot, on a rock where the water lapped gently against the base and a stand of bushes blocked her from the harshest bite of the wind.

Insects buzzed on the surface of the water, till a fish burst out to snatch one from the air and disappear again. The rest of the insects took the warning and scattered, like she wished she could. She’d considered it… it seemed better to flee than be snatched up like prey.  But where would she go?

Belle sighed and pulled her shawl closer around her shoulders, starting to shiver a little.

Another ripple in the water, no doubt another fish looking for a snack. Maybe the insects would get away this time.

The water bubbled further out and something larger broke the surface of the water.

Belle sat up as something broke the surface, further out than before. At this distance, it was nothing more than a shadow, but definitely larger than a fish or anything that she knew lived in this loch. She held her breath, waiting to see if it would appear again.

It did…closer this time. She could barely see now. The sun had fully set and the moon had yet to rise. It was supposed to be a full moon tonight; she’d counted on the light of the moon to help guide her way back home. But right now, there was only star shine.

The water splashed harder against the boulder where she sat, as if the calm of the loch had been disturbed further out. She pulled her knees up, making sure no part of her touched the water, and scooted further back on the rock. There were tales of creatures who lived in this loch. Superstitious nonsense, of course, and yet….

Another splash, this one louder and more insistent. She strained her eyes, and almost thought she saw a shadow at the base of her boulder.

Ridiculous. Her mind was playing tricks on her, and she knew it. She needed to relax and wait for the moon to rise. Then she’d walk back home and hopefully find that her father’s business had been concluded, Gaston had gone home, and she would find out what fate awaited her. Her real-life fate, not just her imagined demise at the hands of some sea creature in the loch.

A light appeared on the far side of the water, a pinprick that was barely visible at this distance. It swayed, like a lantern held by a person.

A voice carried to her, singing with an otherworldly quality. Shadows in the water, disembodied voices singing…. what would her imagination conjure up next? Belle tried to laugh at herself, but couldn’t summon even a chuckle. The voice carried again, a bit louder. There was another slap of water against the boulder where Belle sat. A splash a few feet away, and after a moment the voice stopped singing. The light lowered and became still.

Belle strained her eyes, trying to see who was on the other side of the water. No one lived on that side of the loch, that she knew of. Who could possibly be over there calling and _what_ were they calling?

There seemed to be shadows moving near the lantern, if that’s what it was. The small point of light was blocked more than once, as if someone walked in front of it. Then the light moved higher again, and moved away till Belle could no longer see it.

She continued to stare at the last place she’d seen the light, before giving herself a mental shake. She was being silly. Time to go back home and face her new reality. Sitting here in the dark and getting progressively colder wouldn’t accomplish anything. And as for the mysterious splashes and shadows she’d seen…. those had to have been her imagination, right?  

With a sigh, she made her way back to the trail and then followed it through the woods till the candlelit windows of the cottage she shared with her father came into view. She didn’t hear Gaston’s raucous laughter, so hopefully he’d gone home.

Steeling herself, she pushed the door open and entered the main room to see her father sitting by the fire, head bowed. A glass of ale tipped precariously from his hand. Belle walked quietly up to him and managed to get the glass before he dropped it, waking him.

“Belle. Where did you go?” His voice was slightly slurred, and Belle only sighed. She’d expected nothing else.

“For a walk, down by the loch.”

“You should have been here,” he rebuffed her. “Didn’t you want to have a part in your marriage negotiations?”

“Whether I was here or not, I had no say in the matter. You wanted to decide my future for me, so you get to decide it. You don’t get to pretend like I had a choice.”

“But of course you have a choice,” he wheedled. Belle looked away, not answering. “So don’t you want to know what was decided after you left?”

“Just answer one question, Papa. Am I to marry Gaston?”

“Yes. We signed the engagement contract tonight. It will be a great union, you’ll see. Gaston is–”

“I know exactly what he is,” she cut him off. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed now.”

She closed the door of her room and lowered the bar to lock it, then simply leaned against the wood, unwilling to move. When her father built this room onto the house for her, saying that a young lady of a certain age needed her own space and privacy, not just a curtained-off corner of the main room…. he’d carefully installed bars on the windows. He joked that it would keep out the monsters that lived in the woods and the loch, in addition to any impatient suitors. As a young girl, barely starting to grow into a woman, she’d been grateful for the security the bars gave her. Now she saw them for the prison they were. And tonight, he’d gone and invited a suitor who was also a monster. Soon, she wouldn’t have the luxury of locking her threats out. Her most immediate threat would be in the room with her.

With a shuddering sigh, she pushed away from the door and began getting ready for bed, trying not to think about the evening to come when she would not be going to bed alone.

##  *****

The next morning, she woke early and dressed herself, tip toeing out past her father who snored on his bed in the corner. The spilled bottle on the floor proved that he’d gone back to drinking after she left him last night. Drawn by an impulse that she didn’t want to examine too closely, she followed the trail to the water again. She didn’t know what she expected to see. That pinprick of light across the water would hardly be visible in the daytime, even though it was true that the sun was just now rising. There was still more light than last night.

She stood on the bank for several moments, feeling foolish, when a rustling in the bushes made her turn with a gasp. Her heart raced for a moment, and she looked frantically around for a weapon, snatching up a large rock at her feet in place of anything better.

The bushes parted and Ruby Lucas emerged in her customary red cloak, looking surprised by Belle standing there.

“Belle! What are you doing here so early?”

“I could ask the same of you,” she answered, lowering her rock. “This isn’t exactly on the way to the inn, for either of us.”

“Oh, umm…I thought I’d pick some berries for Granny, but I forgot my basket. What about you?”

Belle snorted. “Just avoiding my future, that’s all.” She turned to toss the rock into the water.

Ruby came to stand beside her, taking a moment to study Belle’s profile as she looked out over the loch and refused to make eye contact.

“Your dad made a deal with Gaston?” Belle nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“I woke up this morning and just couldn’t bear to be in the house one more minute, so I came down here for some quiet before going to work. I came here last night too, while they were… _negotiating_. I figured I didn’t need to be present for them to decide my life for me.”

“You were here last night?” Ruby asked. “Night, as in after the moonrise?”

“I got here just as the sun was setting,” Belle replied, wondering why that detail mattered. “I stayed till the moon rose and then walked back home.”

“Belle…that’s dangerous.”

“I had plenty of light to get home by,” she said. “It was a full moon last night.”

“Oh, believe me, I’m well aware. But I wasn’t worried about the light; I know you can find your way home even in pitch dark. I’ve seen you. But it can be dangerous out here. There are all sorts of…wild animals in the woods.”

“Well, no wolf tried to eat me for a snack.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Ruby jerk.

“Did you…. hear anything strange while you were out here?”

“Actually, yes,” Belle answered, and looked at her friend strangely when she started again, but Ruby waved for her to continue. “There were some loud splashes out on the water, and I could see a large shadow moving out there, though it was too dark to see what it was. Definitely bigger than a fish, though.”

“Oh, so…. only out on the water?” Ruby looked relieved.

“There was a light on the opposite bank, too. Like someone was holding a lantern? And…. I know this sounds strange, but I thought I heard someone singing. And then more splashes and then it all stopped and the light went away.”

“That _is_ strange,” Ruby mused, but she was more relaxed now.

“I didn’t think anyone lived on the other side of the loch. Do you know of anyone?”

“No. But you know who would know, right?” Ruby gave her a knowing grin.

“Granny!” they said in unison.

“C’mon. I’m sure you haven’t had breakfast yet. Granny will feed us before we start work, and you can tell her all about your strange splashes and lights.”

She slung an arm around Belle’s shoulders and in no time, they were settled at the well-worn table presided over by Granny Lucas. She always seemed to fix enough food to feed a horde. Belle didn’t know if that was because she ran an inn and was accustomed to feeding her many guests, or because Ruby ate more food than should be possible for a young woman of her physique.

It wasn’t till all three were stuffed full of Granny’s excellent cooking that Ruby broached the topic of Belle’s mysterious sighting the night before. The old woman’s brow creased in concern as she listened.

“You’ve heard all the stories, girls. I know, because I told them to you myself.”

Ruby nodded. “About the horse-like creatures in the loch.”

“Aye. Kelpies, they’re called.”

“But those are just stories, meant to frighten small children and keep them from wandering too close to the water’s edge. We’re a bit old to believe that, Granny.” Belle leaned forward. “What do you really think is splashing around out there? I’ve read in books about sea creatures larger than a house, but they only live in the ocean. What could be in our loch?”

Granny eyed her shrewdly. “What makes you so sure that the stories aren’t true? Have we not had people disappear from our village for no reason? Never to be seen again? What do you think happened to them?”

“I’m fairly sure they weren’t dragged underwater by a magical horse.” Granny only continued to stare at her in challenge, so Belle switched tactics. “What about the lantern I saw, on the opposite shore? Do you know who lives over there?”

“A witch. A dark witch, full of evil…though I hear she prefers the term wicked.”

##  *****

_The light in the cabin went out, and the horse in the outside corral fluttered his lips in relief. The witch wouldn’t be calling on him tonight, to help her capture and kill her enemies. Or to do…worse things._

_The slight breeze whispered over his body, a poor substitute for the cold water of the loch. At least it was nighttime, not the dreaded day when the sun burned his eyes. Nighttime was tolerable, but nevertheless, he hated being on land. Life here was too warm, too dry. The very air burned his lungs as he sucked it down. Oh, he could survive in this form. He could breathe the air and eat grass or oats. He could gallop on land, and there was a certain satisfaction in the thundering sound his hooves made on the ground._

_He could even survive in human form. He could walk on two legs, he could eat their food and understand their speech, even replicate it himself. Being a kelpie meant being a shapeshifter, one who could adapt to any of the three states of which he was capable._

_But nothing here, in this dry bright world, compared to the peace he found in the depths of the loch. The darkness there suited him, allowing him to hide from these dreadful land creatures – humans – who had only ever hunted his kind.  And so his kind hunted them back. He’d never developed a taste for human flesh purely as a food source. He was quite happy to gorge himself on the fish and other assorted life in the murky depths. But he had killed in self-defense or in anger, and knew he could do it again. More recently, he’d killed on command….and those were the deaths that he regretted._

_A fly buzzed around his hind quarters, and he swished his tail to scare it away as he contemplated the small dwelling where the witch slept. Now there was someone he could kill without a second thought, and no regrets. The moment she let her guard down, and wandered too close to the water or loosened her control over him…. he amused himself for several moments, contemplating the different ways he could kill her, before a new scent entered his nostrils, making him jerk his head around._

_A human. A female human. Another witch? He breathed deeply, trying to separate this newcomer’s scent from the forest in which she hid. She smelled…. young. There was something unsullied about her, letting him know even before he could see her that she couldn’t possibly be a witch. This one had never been touched by Dark magic._

_His ears pricked forward as a figure came out of the shadow of the trees, and dropped the fabric that covered her head, letting him see her face in the light of the full moon. He snorted in surprise before he could stop himself, for the female in front of him had the kindest eyes he’d ever seen on a human. She spoke to him, and he couldn’t stop himself from walking forward to learn more about this strange fearless creature who’d intruded on his solitary captivity._

##  *****

Belle approached the corral with caution, picking her way in the dark. She couldn’t explain even to herself why she’d come. But something compelled her to find the witch’s cottage and see if it really was a kelpie that the witch had summoned from the water. The very idea of the mythical water horse intrigued her. How was it able to live in water and on land? She’d only read of creatures like that in books, or heard of them in the old tales. She’d never considered that they existed for real.

Father would be furious to know that he’d disobeyed her order to stay in the house. But he was unconscious, as usual, with an empty bottle propped up by his side. Gaston had forbidden her to go out after dark as well, but he wasn’t her husband – not yet. He had no right to command her.

She held her breath as the rails of the corral came into view in the semi-dark. She could just make out a large shadow on the other side of the enclosure. She wished she could light the lantern she held, but that would surely attract the attention of the witch.

A loud snuffling snort from the creature inside the pen – should she call it a horse or not? – told her that he was aware of her presence. She stopped several feet away from the rail, waiting. Hopefully the paddock had been built to contain him. If the old stories were to be believed, he’d like nothing better than to devour a maiden like her for a midnight snack…. unless he could follow her with a small child for dessert.

Slow hoofbeats approached, and she made out the points of his ears, silhouetted against the star shine in the sky, before she could see anything else. Then he put his nose over the rail and snuffled in her direction. His ears swiveled, front and back, in a way that made her think he was curious. He seemed to be asking a question.

“Hello,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m Belle.” No one had ever taught her the etiquette for addressing a land-bound kelpie, but a polite introduction seemed like a safe bet. “Can you understand me in this form?”

He bobbed his head up and down in an unmistakable nod.

“Good. That makes this easier. Umm…I don’t suppose you can tell me your name?”

He blew air out through his lips, fluttering them in disgust.

“Right. Didn’t think so, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.” She was silent for a moment, simply regarding him while still keeping her distance. He wasn’t trying to break through the fence to attack her, but that didn’t mean she was safe from him if she let herself get within reach of his teeth. “I…I saw you,” she confessed. “When you came out of the water. The witch who lives here, she called you.”

He tossed his head and gave a soft neigh, which she interpreted as, _I already know that_.

“Right.” She had to laugh at herself a little. “I guess I just wanted to see you up close. I always thought your kind only existed in stories.”

He fluttered his lips again, before turning away and trotting to the other side of the paddock. Belle realized her mistake.

“I’m sorry!” she exclaimed, much too loudly before catching herself. She continued in a whisper, hoping his hearing was good enough to catch her words. “I didn’t mean that I came here just to gawk at you. It’s not like that. Please, will you come back so I don’t have to speak too loudly? I don’t want the witch to hear.”

He walked back slowly, his head down and glaring at her from under those long lashes. _This better be good_.

“I came here tonight to ask you a question. Is the witch holding you here against your will?” Another emphatic nod. “Do you want to leave?” Nod. “If you promise not to eat me, I’ll open the gate for you.”

Instantly, he jerked back from her, shaking his head from side to side in a movement that reminded her almost of a snake.

“No? You don’t promise not to eat me? Even if it wins you your freedom?”

His point made, he stopped snaking his head from side to side and regarded her, waiting.

“Do you want to be freed or not?”

His ears flicked back and forth twice, before sighing so deeply that his entire body shuddered with it. He turned and looked at the cottage where the witch lived, before turning back to Belle with a snort.

“You want to leave, but the witch won’t let you,” Belle guessed. A nod told her she was right. “But she isn’t here now.”

He lowered his head and rubbed it against his right front leg, then looked up at her.

“Your leg is injured?” she guessed. He’d seemed to be moving on it just fine, but she was hardly an expert on kelpies. No human was.

He shook his head back and forth. _No._

He lowered his head again, and rubbed it against his leg.

“I don’t understand. I’m sorry,” Belle told him. “Maybe–”

A light came on in the cottage, causing Belle to gasp and jump back. She scrambled behind the hedge as the door opened and the witch came out, lantern in one hand. The horse snorted and kicked his feet up, his ears laid back.

“Quiet, you.” Peeking through a gap in the bushes, Belle could see her approach the gate. The witch held something in her other hand, that Belle couldn’t quite make out. A length of rope, maybe? At her command, the kelpie ceased his antics. “Come with me, and be sure you’re human before you walk through that door. For what I have in mind, a horse won’t do. Understand?”

He pawed the ground and walked through the gate when she opened it, as docile as any trained dog. He walked just outside the circle of light made by the witch’s lantern, but there was enough light for Belle to see the moment that he turned from horse to human. She couldn’t see much more of him than his silhouette, but it was most definitely human. The door closed behind them but the faint light from the lantern still showed through the open windows. Their shapes moved past the window, then she saw no more. It didn’t seem she’d have another chance to talk to the kelpie tonight. She considered waiting to see if the kelpie would be returned to his corral, but after a moment, decided to return home. It was late, and she wanted the familiar security of her own bed for the few nights that it remained hers.

Why was she so fascinated with the kelpie, anyway? What good would come of making friends with it? With him? She stared at the fenced-in space in the moonlight, and thought she knew why she felt drawn to him. He was a prisoner, like she would soon be. Yet…. she’d offered him freedom and he’d refused.

No, not quite refused. He’d been trying to tell her something, perhaps an explanation for why he couldn’t leave, when the witch showed up. She needed to figure out what he was trying to say. But it would be hard to do without talking to him.

She found the narrow trail in the hedge and made her way with care, straining her eyes looking for rocks or other obstacles, thinking about whether to come back. Maybe she’d have better luck tomorrow night. Maybe she’d give up and resign herself to marrying Gaston, to living the life that others had planned for her. Maybe she’d just stay in bed tomorrow and claim illness, giving herself an excuse to avoid her life in general.

The path took her past the cottage again, and she saw a faint glow from a window. Were they in there? The movement of the light against the wall that she could see from here, suggested that they were.

Crouching low, she left the safety of the trees and ran across the yard till she was kneeling beneath the window sill. She could hear sounds now…. panting and groaning. What was going on in there?

Praying that she wouldn’t be caught, she lifted herself up just enough to peek over the windowsill.

It took a moment for her brain to process what she was seeing. They were in bed together, and both were naked. The kelpie – in human form – was lying on his back, and the witch was…. she was astride him. Her legs straddled so her knees rested on the bed on either side of the kelpie’s hips, her hands braced on his chest. Her red hair tumbled down her back, swaying with her movements as she rocked back and forth. The moans Belle had heard were coming from her. She let out another guttural sound as she leaned forward and rocked faster, pulling a sound from the man as well.

Belle jerked back as if burned, ducking down below the window to hide and trying to control her breathing so they wouldn’t hear her…. though how could they hear her panicked breaths over the noises they were making?

She needed to get away from here. Keeping low, she ran for the shelter of the tree line and once hidden in the shadows, stopped to make sure she hadn’t been seen. Even at this distance she could hear the groans through the open window, so they were still doing…. whatever they were doing and clearly hadn’t noted her escape.

Was that what it was like, between married couples? Granny had told her what to expect on her wedding night, but nothing she said had led Belle to expect…. _that_. Would Gaston want her to sit on him, like that? Weren’t women usually on the bottom? That’s what overheard gossip from older girls had led her to expect, ever since she was a young girl herself.

And what was going on between the witch and the kelpie, anyway? Why were they in bed together like a married couple? Why did the horse seem to want to leave, but at the same time he didn’t, or couldn’t? Why did he claim to be a prisoner, but wasn’t trying to get away? The questions swirled in her mind the entire walk home.

Gaston was leaning against the cottage door when arrived, and Belle’s heart sank. She’d hoped to avoid him till the promise ceremony, but here he was, a hulking shadow that she couldn’t ignore. A wisp of smoke and a nauseating smell surrounded him.

“Good evening, Gaston,” she said as neutrally as she could.

“I’ve been waiting out here for hours,” he muttered. He puffed out another stomach-turning cloud of smoke.

“Did you want to speak to me?”

“Did I want–” He laughed, but there was no joy in it. Belle realized he was drunk. She could smell the alcohol now, a mild scent nearly overwhelmed by the bitter herbs he was smoking. He’d probably been drinking with her father for hours while he waited. She had a sudden image of a spark from his cigar igniting the alcohol fumes, and Gaston disappearing in a column of flame.

“Gaston, it’s late. I want to go to bed. Come back tomorrow, and we can talk.” She tried to edge past him to reach the door, but he was immovable.

“Tomorrow, huh? So you can make a fool of me again, by not showing up?  Why weren’t you here tonight? I came over to discuss our promise ceremony and our wedding.”

“I had other things to do.”

“Like what?” His face was suddenly inches from hers, and she jerked back, disgusted by his smoke smells and his whiskey breath and the grimace that twisted his usually handsome features, which were really the only trait that recommended him. Handsome wasn’t good enough for Belle. “Where were you and what were you doing? I told you to be here tonight, and you disobeyed me!”

“I’m not your wife, Gaston! Not yet!” She stepped back, turning to walk away. If he wouldn’t let her in her own house, she’d go to the inn. It wouldn’t be the first time that she’d sought refuge with Ruby and Granny. He grabbed her arm and jerked her back, making her cry out.

“You will be. In five days, you’ll be mine, and you will do what I say.” He pulled her against him, her back to his front, and his arm encircled her waist, holding her immobile no matter how hard she struggled. She stomped his foot down on top of his, but he hardly flinched. An elbow to his stomach had no effect either. He buried his face in her hair and his hands slipped up from her waist, moving toward her breasts. “You’ll do whatever I say.”

“Gaston! Let me go!” Belle shrieked, giving in to her panic. His hands covered her breasts and she reacted without thinking, bringing both feet off the ground with a half-formed thought that she would kick backwards into his knees. Maybe _that_ would have an effect.

Instead, her movement caused Gaston to lose his grip on her and she slid downward, out of the circle of his hold, thumping on the ground in a very undignified manner at his feet. She scrambled up with the intention of running, but wasn’t fast enough. His hands were on her again before she could even gain her feet, this time spinning her around to face him.

“You think you can run from me, you ungrateful wench?” His twisted grimace was thrown into sudden light as the cottage door swung open.

“What’s going on here?” Maurice French slurred his words as he swayed in the doorway. Gaston released her, pushing her away so that she stumbled.

“Everything’s fine, Maurice. We’re just discussing our promise ceremony….and the wedding night.” He gave a wide smile, his teeth shining in the lamp light from the cottage.

Belle brushed herself off, feeling sick and shaky. She made a wide circle around Gaston and slipped under her father’s arm in the doorway.

“I don’t want to talk to him, Papa.” She found her voice again once she was inside the cottage walls, shaky though it was.

He looked at her over his shoulder, and she thought for a moment that she saw a flicker of comprehension in his eyes. Had he seen what was happening with Gaston? Had he deliberately come to her rescue, or was his interruption just lucky timing?

Gaston filled the doorway, his hand coming down on Maurice’s shoulder with a manly slap. “Why don’t we all sit down and we can discuss the promise ceremony together? I was thinking the town hall would be big enough to hold all my friends.”

Maurice pushed him back over the threshold. “Gaston, it’s late. I said we’d discuss all that tomorrow, and we will. But I think you should leave now.”

“You promised her to me, Maurice. You can’t go back on your word now. Belle _will_ marry me in five days.”

“Yes….in five days. Not tonight. Tonight, she’s still my daughter and this is still my cottage, and I decide who I invite in. Go home, Gaston.” Maurice closed the door with an emphatic thump of the door against the frame, and lowered the bar into place.

Belle made herself move, checking that all the windows were shuttered and locked, then checking the windows in her room as well. The bars were a comfort tonight. Gaston was a large, strong man – she shuddered at the memory of his strength as he’d imprisoned her against his body tonight – but he was no match for those bars.

Her gaze dropped to the bed, and the connotations there were just too much for her to contemplate. Something that both Gaston and her father had said tonight, came back to her now.

Maurice was slumped in his chair by the fire again, as he most often was. Belle built up the fire, then sat across from him.

“Five days, Papa?” she asked, finally. That vital piece of information that she had hardly noticed before, loomed large in her mind now.

“Gaston wants a short engagement and a quick wedding,” Maurice replied. “He can’t wait to be married to you, Belle.”

“You mean he can’t wait to _own_ me.” She shocked herself with how bitter her voice sounded.

“He’ll take care of you, Belle.” His voice was weary. “You deserve better than this little cottage, better than having to slave away at that inn to put food on our table. Gaston is the wealthiest man in town. Once you marry him, I can relax, knowing that once I’m gone, you won’t starve or end up on the streets selling yourself.”

“So to prevent that, you’ll sell me off first, is that it?”

“Belle, it’s not–”

“Don’t bother. It’s exactly like that, and you know it!”

She stomped to her room, slamming the door and locking it. She didn’t want to be cooped up in here. Her helpless rage needed space to vent itself. But she didn’t dare go out. Gaston might still be lurking out there.

She thought she’d resigned herself to marrying whoever her father chose. She’d known her whole life that an arranged marriage awaited her. But now that she was grown, and a marriage ceremony inevitable…. she knew she couldn’t go through with it. Not to Gaston. She wouldn’t spend the rest of her life with a man who disregarded her wishes as he had tonight. She could still feel his hands digging into her, drawing her body to his, and she shivered.

She threw herself down on the bed, not even bothering to undress or take off her boots. If she wasn’t going to marry Gaston, and her father wouldn’t help her to get out of the engagement contract he’d signed…. she needed a plan. She needed allies.

She turned over, facing her window with its meager starlight showing though the shutter’s cracks, and pulled a blanket over her. She needed daylight. With any luck, by sunrise both her father and Gaston would be sleeping off the whiskey from tonight. She’d go to work at the inn, and perhaps Ruby and Granny could help her.

She closed her eyes, trying to will sleep to come. She wondered briefly if she would have nightmares tonight of struggling in Gaston’s arms, but a very different image occupied her mind.

She’d seen the kelpie transform from horse to human. Seen the silhouette of his trim figure, so different from Gaston’s hulking mass. The moonlight had shone on his buttocks, and she’d wished for a moment that he could turn around so she could see the front. _That_ part of a man’s anatomy was a mystery to her. Her curiosity about it had always been just that, simple curiosity. Belle had always loved knowledge for its own sake. But catching a glimpse of him naked…. something more than curiosity tugged low in her belly. She turned over, burying her face in her pillow to try to block out all she’d seen and heard tonight, and everything that had happened.

It took a long time before she drifted off into a restless sleep.

##  *****

“Ruby! I need to talk to you!” Belle whispered as soon as she arrived at the inn the next morning and found her friend in the laundry room.

“So talk,” she replied in irritation, pausing in stirring the sheets in the large vat of soapy water to wipe her sweaty brow.

“Not in here.” Casting about for a plausible excuse to seek privacy, her eyes lit on the basket of clean wet sheets in the corner. “Leave that to soak a bit, and let’s go hang the clean ones out to dry.”

“Fine. I could use some cold air.”

They each took a handle and between them, maneuvered the heavy basket out the back door and to the clothesline. There was no discussion required for them to each take a side and drape the sheet over the line, then secure it with clothespins. But out here, out of earshot of anyone who might be listening from the inn, they could talk about personal matters while they worked.

“I went to the other side of the loch last night, to the witch’s cottage,” Belle said, focused on fastening a pin to the line.

“You what? Why would you do a daft thing like that?”

“I was…curious. I wanted to see if it really was a kelpie that she called out of the loch.”

“And?”

“It was. I saw him.”

“Why are you interested enough to risk your life?”

“You heard Granny, kelpies are powerful creatures. So how is it that this one is being held in a corral against his will?”

“Maybe because the witch is even more powerful? Which is more than enough reason to keep your distance, Belle! You could have been turned into a toad, or taken prisoner yourself, or…. or anything!” Ruby threw her hands up, unable to adequately express her disbelief.

Belle saw Granny looking at them out the window.

“She’s watching. We better keep working while you tell me how stupid I am.”

They lifted another large sheet onto the line, working silently till Granny left.

Ruby snuck a peek over her shoulder. “Belle, you know I don’t think you’re stupid. But what possessed you to put yourself in that kind of danger?”

“I just…I feel bad for him, being held prisoner. He doesn’t want to be there, he said so.”

“How did you talk to him?”

“Well, I talked,” Belle confessed. “He nodded or shook his head. So we were limited to yes or no questions, but Ruby…. I asked him outright if he was being held against his will, and he said yes. No one deserves that.”

“You’ve always been too soft-hearted, Belle. And you know I love you for that. But what did you hope to accomplish by going over there? You could’ve been killed, and for what?”

Belle hesitated, because this was where it got complicated and she needed Ruby to help her figure things out. “Well…. I _was_ planning to set him free.”

Ruby closed her eyes for a moment as if to gather herself. “Setting aside the stupidity of setting loose a creature that can kill you, what changed your mind?” Belle adjusted a clothes pin that was already on perfectly straight. “Belle. You said you _were_ going to set him free.”

“Yeah. The thing is, while I was talking to him, the witch came out. And she ordered him to change to human form and go inside with her. I snuck over to peek in the window, and I saw them. They were….in bed. Doing…that thing that married people do.”

“Oh.” Ruby’s eyes went wide. “So they’re…lovers?”

“I don’t know! That’s what I don’t understand. He was in horse form outside, in a paddock. Why would he be out there if they were lovers? But when I saw them, together…. he wasn’t fighting her. If kelpies are so strong, then she shouldn’t be able to make him do anything he didn’t want, right? He wouldn’t have been in bed with her if he didn’t want to be.”

“Unless she was forcing him somehow. She _is_ a witch.” Ruby’s expression darkened. “Did he look like he was enjoying it?”

Belle could feel herself blushing. “How should I know?”

Ruby rolled her eyes and picked up another sheet, gesturing to Belle to get her side. “What was he doing?”

“Just lying there. She was on top of him.” Her face was still burning, she could feel it. The cold air was a relief against her cheeks.

“She was on top? Huh. Did either of them say anything?”

“Not…. words.”

“What does that mean. C’mon, Belle, don’t make me work for every scrap of information. You’re the one who brought it up, so what did you see?”

“I told you. He was lying there, she was on top, and both were making…noises.”

“Definitely sounds like sex.”

“How would you know? Ruby…you haven’t done that with any boys, have you?” Belle was aghast. Relations before marriage was an offense that was harshly punished in their village. A girl had to be a virgin on her wedding night, or she couldn’t get married. Not to anyone respectable, at least.

“Belle, I grew up in an inn.” Ruby waved behind her at the building her granny owned. “I’ve been hearing the sounds of couples having sex through the walls for as long as I can remember. I’ve seen more customers naked than I can count…. both men and women. I was eight when a naked man invited me into the bathtub with him.”

“What happened?” Belle was suddenly terrified for her friend, even though the incident happened long ago.

“I ran screaming downstairs to get Granny, and she grabbed her crossbow. She chased him out of the inn into the snow, and threw his bag after him. He was still naked and wet.” Ruby grinned. “That was when Granny sat me down and told me everything about men. Well, everything she could without scaring me more. She taught me to defend myself when I didn’t want a man’s attention, and that someday, when I was older, it was okay to be interested if that’s how I felt.” Ruby turned back to the sheets and smoothed them unnecessarily.

“Ruby…. are you…. interested in someone?” She’d never heard her friend say that anyone in the village had caught her eye, though she knew many men had tried to court her. Ruby glanced at her, then away. “Which boy is it?”  

“It’s…. not a boy.”

For a moment, Belle didn’t understand. If not a boy, then who? She gasped as the only other possibility occurred to her.

“You feel that way…. for a girl? But Ruby, you can’t marry a girl! Can you?” Belle had never heard of such a thing.

“No, I can’t. But no one can force me to marry a man, either!” She said defiantly. “I’ve never had feelings like that for a man, Belle. Not once! And I won’t marry someone I don’t have feelings for! I don’t need a man to take care of me, anyway. I’m going to inherit the inn from Granny, I’ll run it and support myself, just like she’s done my whole life. I won’t betray someone I love, just to marry someone I don’t.”

“You do have feelings for a girl. Who is it?” Belle whispered. She’d never heard of two women being more than friends. How did that even work? None of the discussions she’d had with Granny about what to expect when she married, had mentioned other possibilities. Could she, herself, be happy in such a relationship with a woman? It might be preferable to marrying Gaston.

“I’d rather not say, Belle. It’s dangerous, for her and for me. It might be dangerous for you if you knew.”

“Does Granny know?”

Ruby sighed. “Yeah. I think she’s hoping that I’ll grow out of it, and meet a man that I like. She says that running an inn is hard work and she wouldn’t wish that life on me if I could marry a man to take care of me instead.”

Belle didn’t answer, too flummoxed by Ruby’s revelations to form a response. Silently, they hung the last two sheets up, each lost in their own thoughts. It wasn’t till the basket was empty and Ruby picked it up to go back inside that she spoke again.

“So what are you going to do? About your kelpie?”

“Not my kelpie,” Belle muttered.

Ruby knocked into her hip with her own. “You know what I mean. You were all anxious to rescue him from the witch, till you saw them in bed together. Did that change your mind?”

“I’m just…. not sure he wants to be rescued.”

“How about this? We’ll go back tonight, together. You can ask him again if he’s being used against his will, and if he wants to be rescued.”

“And if he answers yes to both questions?” Belle opened the door for Ruby to go in ahead of her, still looking at her friend.

“Then I’ll help you rescue him. Because no one deserves to have that choice taken from them,” Ruby said with finality. She entered the inn then stopped abruptly. “Granny.”

Arms crossed, planted in the middle of the hallway like a boulder, all trace of matronly care was gone from Granny’s face.

“Who do you think you’re mounting a rescue for, hmm?” Ruby opened her mouth to answer, but one upheld finger had her closing it again with a snap of her teeth. “Before you bother lying to me, remember that I have _excellent_ hearing.”

“Were you spying on us, Granny?” Ruby accused.

“I came to give Belle a message,” she responded, showing them the note she held. “Your father sent word that this is your last day working here. Tomorrow, the village elders will verify the engagement contract between your father and Gaston, and after that you’ll be too busy planning your wedding, which will happen in four days.”

“No…” Belle breathed. She’d known this was coming, but there had been some small flicker of hope that her father would change his mind. She’d begged him again to cancel the agreement with Gaston, and he said they’d talk about it later. This was how he planned to talk about it…by involving the village elders and entering the engagement into the village records. She’d never heard of a marriage not happening once the engagement was submitted to the elders. She turned to her friend. “Ruby, I can’t. I can’t marry him!”

Ruby looked at her helplessly, and Granny sighed. “Come here then.” She opened the door to the guest parlor, unused at this early hour, and gestured them in. “I know what sort of trouble is chasing you.” Closing the door behind them, she commanded, “Now tell me what sort of trouble you girls are planning to get yourselves into with this kelpie, and we’ll work on both problems, hmm?”

##  *****

Belle held a finger up to her lips, indicating to Ruby that they were close and couldn’t talk from this point.  She nodded her understanding, though Belle could barely see her. It was still a full moon, but here under the trees it was as dark as a new moon night. Belle could only just see the bright red cloak Ruby was wearing, which stood out in the forest. She’d advised Ruby not to wear it, feeling that the bright color could give them away. But her friend had insisted that it was safer for her to wear the cloak than to not….and then explained why. Belle was still trying to digest that information, but…. given her worry over her unwanted engagement, and the discovery that kelpies were real, the revelation that her best friend was a werewolf just seemed to fit with the week she was having.

Belle paused at the tree line, looking for the kelpie in the shadows of the fenced enclosure. She thought at first he might be in the house with the witch again, but a swish of his tail allowed her to locate him. Checking one last time that the house was dark, Belle signaled to Ruby to wait a moment before she crept out from the trees and approached the fence.

She could see the moment that the kelpie sensed her. His head came up and he fluttered his lips with a large exhale before walking toward the fence to stick his head over. He looked for all the world like any ordinary horse, stretching his neck over the rail in hopes of getting an apple or just a pat on the neck. But she couldn’t afford to let her guard down. She stayed out of reach of his teeth to talk to him.

“Good to see you again. Do you remember me from last night?”

A slow, deliberate nod up and down.  Belle took a breath, bracing herself for what she needed to ask.

“I saw you, last night when you went in the house with that witch. I saw you…in bed with her.”

At that, the kelpie’s ears went back and he snapped his teeth together, hard enough to make her jump even though she knew he couldn’t reach her.  He pawed the ground and tossed his head, his long mane shimmering as it moved in the moonlight and the motion setting off a body-length shudder.

“I’m going to ask you a question, and I need an honest answer. Did you want to be with her?”

Again that reptilian movement from last night, the side-to-side motion of his head that was unlike anything she’d ever seen a horse do.

“You don’t. But you can’t leave because she has some sort of control over you.”

A nod this time. Belle wished he could speak to her, so that she could stop feeling like she was standing in the near-dark talking to herself.

“I was talking to someone today. An older woman in my village who knows all the old tales and superstitions. She knew some about you.” She waited for the kelpie’s reaction, but all she got was a forward motion of the ears, like he was waiting to hear what she had to say next. “She said that you’re the Gold Kelpie of legend, and you’re different. You like to make deals, and you never break your word on a deal, once given. Is that true?”

Again, the up-and-down nod.

Belle took a breath, bracing herself, because if what Granny said was true, there would be no turning back once she took this next step.

“I want to make a deal with you.”

His head jerked back, then lowered to allow him to look her directly in the eye, on her level. His ears pricked forward. _I’m listening._

“I need to leave this village and go somewhere far away where I can’t be found. I’ll help you escape the witch, in return for protection and transport to somewhere new, where I can start over. Interested?”

A nod.

“Granny – the wise woman I spoke of – says that the witch must have your bridle. It’s what controls you. Is that right?”

Another nod, though this one seemed more reluctant.

“So if I can get your bridle, you’ll be free of the witch, correct?”

He nodded. Yes.

“One last thing. As part of the deal, you can’t harm me, or my friend who I brought tonight to help.”

At that, he fluttered air out through his lips and looked pointedly toward the woods where Belle had emerged.

“Ruby,” Belle called softly. “Come on out, I think he wants to meet you.”

The red cloak nearly glowed in the moonlight as Ruby emerged from the shadows to stand beside Belle. She regarded the kelpie with a frank curiosity that he returned, with interest. Stretching his neck over the fence toward Ruby, he breathed in deeply before jerking back with a snort. He shook his head, the motion triggering a whole-body shudder like Belle had seen before.

Ruby regarded him, calm in the face of his reaction. “You know what I am, don’t you? You can smell it.” He answered with an emphatic up-and-down of his head. “Under other circumstances, we might be enemies. But if we can work together for one night, I think we can make your life, and Belle’s, a lot better.”

“Do we have a deal?” Belle asked.

All three of them contemplated each other for a moment. The only sounds in the moonlit night were the rustling of night creatures from the forest, and the lazy swish of the kelpie’s tail. Then he lifted a foreleg and held it in the air, waiting.

Belle glanced at Ruby, who didn’t seem to know what to make of this. “I…think he wants us to shake on it.” She stepped closer to the fence, to reach through the rails and shake the kelpie’s leg.

Ruby caught her. “Are you sure you want to get that close to his teeth?”

“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to have to trust each other,” Belle reminded her. “May as well find out now if we can. If he eats me, at least I don’t have to marry Gaston.”

“Right.” Ruby released her and Belle reached slowly through the rails, grasping the kelpie’s leg.

He was cooler than she expected, not the usual body temperature of a warm-blooded horse covered with hair. And the hair itself….it was slick somehow, feeling almost wet even though the kelpie was as dry as herself. She had to grasp tight to keep her grip on his leg as she shook it up and down twice. He continued to hold his leg up when she let go, looking at Ruby.

“Allies? Just for tonight?” Ruby confirmed one last time. He nodded, so she reached through the fence to take her turn at shaking his leg.

“So we’re agreed,” Belle said. “Now…. we need to figure out where the witch keeps your bridle. I’m assuming it’s somewhere in the house, is that correct?”

##  *****

_He watched the two girls crouch low as they crossed the yard to kneel under the witch’s bedroom window, trying to contain the flicker of hope that was flaring up inside him. He didn’t know how long he had been under the witch’s control, but one heartbeat would have been too long. Just the loss of freedom alone would have been torture, even without all the appalling things she’d made him do while holding his bridle in her hand, taunting him with his inability to disobey her._

_That this slip of a human girl would show up at his prison and offer him escape, and all he had to do in return was help her escape her own confinement – he was unclear on the details but she was trapped in some way – seemed too good to be true. Perhaps she only wanted to wrest control of him from the witch, so_ she _could make him do horrible things at_ her _behest._

_His instinct said that wasn’t true. There was too much kindness in this small land creature for him to suspect her of hidden motives. Still, his body trembled with the fear of greeting another sunrise still enslaved – whether to the witch or a new mistress._

_The gate to his paddock was open, and freedom beckoned him from the other side. He could smell the loch from here, and longed to be back in its frigid black depths where he belonged. But it had never been the fence that held him here. The spells the witch had cast on his outdoor cell were connected to his bridle, and would only be broken when the bridle was in the hands of a new master, or returned to him._

_Under the witch’s window, the girl called Ruby threw off her red cloak, letting it flutter to the ground. Her body twisted, turned in on itself, shuddered till a large wolf stood in her place. There was no warning before she backed up several steps and took a flying leap through the window, voicing a snarl that easily carried to the paddock._

_There was a grim satisfaction to hearing the witch’s terrified scream, and seeing her bolt out the front door just seconds later. He looked closely, but there was nothing in her hands. The plan had worked…. the wolf had succeeded in catching the witch off guard and she’d had no time to grab his bridle. At the side of the house, the other girl lifted herself up to the window and climbed into the bedroom._

_“Save me! I command you!” the witch screamed, but she could not command him without his bridle in her possession._

_The witch risked turning back long enough to throw magic toward the wolf, which it dodged easily. A fireball thrown over the shoulder flew past the wolf and only succeeded in setting some grass aflame. The wolf nipped at the witch’s heels, and he felt sure that it could have brought her down at any time. Instead, the witch was driven to his fence, bringing her in range of his teeth as Belle emerged from the cabin with his bridle in her hand._

_He could feel the effects of the spell fade, and with it, all the anger he’d suppressed for lack of any way to suppress it came roaring to the surface. When the witch’s body slammed into the paddock rails, and she tried to climb over – oh, how naïve she must be, to think in here with him was safer than outside with a werewolf – it was such a simple matter to reach his head over the fence and snap his teeth closed on her arm. He felt flesh tear and the joint pop out of its socket as he dragged her over the fence, but he ignored that as he ignored the loathsome creature’s screams of agony. He tossed her onto his back, feeling his own magic lock her in place. Even her powers couldn’t dislodge her from his back now. Turning, he galloped through the open gate, headed for the loch._

_The cold water closed over his head as he dove in, his body transforming from a land horse to water kelpie. He felt a grim satisfaction at hearing the witch’s final screams cut off as her head went under as well. But unlike him, who welcomed the oxygen-rich fluid into his lungs, feeling secure for the first time since he’d been captured, the witch’s response to her submergence was only a strangled gurgle and a series of bubbles drifting toward the surface as he dove deeper and the pressure expelled the last of the life-giving air from her body._

_He snorted, blowing out bubbles of his own which fluttered away, and slowed his rapid dive into the most unreachable places of the loch. The witch was dead, and he was going to enjoy ripping her flesh from her bones._

##  *****

The surface of the loch remained calm, with no trace of the kelpie who’d disappeared into it. Belle sat at the edge of the water in the pre-dawn mist, wondering how long she should wait. The sun would rise soon, and Gaston would arrive at the inn with the village elders, intent on enforcing the marriage contract her father had signed. She wanted to be far away from here before that happened.

She fidgeted with the handle of the lantern that they’d turned down so as not to attract attention from anyone in their home village across the loch, then patted the saddlebags next to her as if to make sure they were still there.

“He’ll be here, Belle.” Ruby, back in her red cloak, looped an arm around her shoulders to pull her in for a hug before letting go. “Granny said he never goes back on his word.”

“If he doesn’t show, I’ll start walking. Maybe I don’t stand a chance of escaping Gaston on foot, but…. I won’t go back to the village. I can’t.”

“You won’t have to walk. If he doesn’t show, I’ll take you.” Belle looked at her, surprised by the offer, and Ruby shrugged. “I mean, we’ll have to travel at night because you’d likely draw a lot of unwanted attention riding through the countryside on the back of a wolf. But I’m not leaving you till I’m sure you’re safe. I told Granny and Dorothy that if I didn’t return today, I’d be helping you escape.”

“Dorothy?” Belle asked, distracted from her own problems for a moment. She tried to think of someone by that name. “From the farming family, outside the village? Is she–”

“Yeah.” Her smile was somehow contained and expansive at the same time, her eyes lighting up though she stayed focused on the calm surface of the loch. “I didn’t want to tell you her name if it might put you in danger, but…you’re leaving anyway. And I just wanted to tell one person, you know? I’ve kept her a secret from everyone but Granny. Feels good to say her name out loud.”

“She makes you happy, if the look on your face is any indication,” Belle said, giving Ruby a shoulder bump.

“Yeah.” If it was possible to hear a blush, Belle could swear she heard Ruby’s in the weak light.

“Do you…do you think that you and Dorothy will ever be able to be together?”

“Well…Granny said just this morning that with you leaving, we’d need to find someone else to help out at the inn, and asked what I thought of hiring Dorothy.” Ruby laughed, saving Belle from trying to guess her feelings. “She said that it would be best for her to stay with us at the inn, but we can’t possibly utilize another room for staff that could be used for a paying customer. If I want the extra help, I’ll have to share my room.” This time Ruby outright giggled at her Granny’s behavior.

“She, um…definitely drives a hard bargain, your Granny.” She found her hand in the dark and squeezed it. “I’m happy for you, Ruby.”

“Thanks.” She squeezed back before saying, “We both made deals today. Yours will turn out for the best too, I know it.”

Belle sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest to continue waiting. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when the water began to bubble, and the two girls scrambled to their feet. The kelpie’s ears broke the surface first, then the rest of his head, and his wide back, till all of him emerged from the water and he stood on the bank in front of them.

He shook his entire body, making his mane toss and water droplets fly in all directions. Belle ducked, covering her eyes from the spray till it stopped. When she opened her eyes again, the kelpie stood before her, dry and nearly glowing in the first rays of the sun. It was the first time she’d seen him in the daylight, and she realized that ‘golden kelpie’ wasn’t just a name to set him apart from the others. His body was a light golden brown color, his mane and tail such a delicate blond that they appeared almost white. His eyes were a deep soulful brown, focused intently on her. He snorted and tossed his head, and Belle realized she’d been staring. But who wouldn’t? He was quite possibly the most beautiful horse she’d ever seen.

He stepped forward and nipped at the bridle Belle held in her hand, causing Ruby to gasp. But Belle felt no fear, even when his lips brushed across her hand as well. If he’d wanted to go back on their deal, he could have eaten them hours ago, or simply stayed underwater. Him being here said that he planned to fulfill his part of their agreement. Therefore, she didn’t need to control him. She held up the bridle, offering it to him and granting his freedom.

He stuck his nose into the harness, clamping the bit between his teeth, and Belle slipped the headstall over his ears, tossing the reins over his neck in the same motion. With that controlling piece of tack back in his possession, he heaved a very human sigh, then lowered his head over one outstretched foreleg in a passable imitation of a courtly bow.

“Was that a thank you?” Belle asked, charmed. He raised his head, nodding. “You’re very welcome.”

He nudged her with his nose, pushing her back a little in what seemed a playful way, then turned so his back was easily accessible to her, as if inviting her to mount. She grasped his mane, ready to swing up on his back. It was now or never.

“Wait, Belle.” Ruby’s hand was on her arm. “That’s how kelpies capture their victims, you know. They get a person to mount their back and then drag them underwater. Are you sure about this?”

“You’re the one who said he wouldn’t go back on his word,” Belle reminded her. The kelpie tossed his head, impatient with their dithering.

“Yes, but…now that the moment’s here…I just want you to be safe, Belle.”

She let go of the kelpie’s mane, regarding him for a moment while she thought.

“Are you capable of changing to your human form at will?” she asked him. “And can you speak our language in human form?”

He snorted in disgust, then a quivering started under his skin. His body began to change, muscles shifting. Belle thought she could hear the bones moving to accommodate his new shape. Captivated, she didn’t think of moving away till Ruby pulled her back. When the metamorphosis was complete, the kelpie stood before her in human form, nude but for the magical bridle that hung around his neck. He took it off, holding it rather than continue to wear it.

Belle averted her eyes, blushing. Ruby had more presence of mind, turning to rummage in one of the bags they’d brought for Belle’s journey.

“Here…if you want to get dressed.” She held out pants and a shirt. The kelpie took them, looking bemused, and awkwardly began to put them on, as if he knew how to dress himself but hadn’t had much practice at it.

“You packed clothes for him?” Belle asked Ruby, still trying not to look directly at the kelpie.

“No. I intended them for you. In case you needed to disguise yourself as a man, for safety.”

“Oh.”

When he was dressed and Belle could look him in the eye, she found that he looked older than she’d expected. Nothing she’d ever read about kelpies mentioned their life span, so without realizing it she’d assumed that he would be somewhat ageless. Instead, lines in his face and gray in his hair – which went down to his shoulders and looked very soft – gave him the appearance of a middle-aged man, perhaps about her father’s age. His eyes were dark brown, deep and soulful, and she realized they looked exactly like the horse’s eyes had. Everything else about him had changed, including his hair color, but his eyes were still recognizable.

He was looking at her, waiting for her to make the next move, as she wondered how to start and finally settled on, “Hello.”

He nodded back, then seemed to remember that he could speak now. “Heh…Heh-lo,” he stuttered out. His voice was rather guttural, perhaps only with disuse.

“I’m Belle, and this is my friend Ruby,” Belle reminded him, in case the memory of learning their names as a horse wasn’t retained in his human brain. “Do you have a name?”

He hesitated, then said…. something. Belle couldn’t quite understand, but it seemed to be several syllables and unlike any name she’d ever heard. She glanced at Ruby, who shrugged helplessly, then asked him to repeat it.

“Rem-puh-stol-skun,” she pronounced, trying her best to approximate the sounds he’d produced.

He shook his head and said it again, the vowels and consonants flowing over and into each other like water.

“Rum-pel-stil-skin,” she tried again. He nodded. “That’s, um…a bit of a mouthful for a human. Do you mind if I shorten it? May I call you Rumple?”

Another nod. So he _could_ speak in human form, but it didn’t seem as if he liked doing it. There could be many conversations with herself in her future, if she stuck to her plan to escape with the kelpie.

“So, Rumpel…we agreed I would free you from the witch, and in return you will not harm me or Ruby, and you will give me safe transport to somewhere far away from here. Do you still agree to those terms?”

He nodded.

“Shall we shake on it?” She held out her hand, and he looked at it for a moment before taking it in his own. His skin was cooler than a human’s, and surprisingly soft. She shook it up and down once before letting go. “Would you prefer to stay in human form, and we can start our journey by walking? We could… get to know each other. I’d like to know you, if we’re going to be traveling together.”

She didn’t realize how true it was, till she said the words out loud, but she did want to know him. Even in human form, there was something about him that intrigued her. His expressive eyes hinted at untold depths, just waiting to be explored. His manner and way of speaking – slow, deliberate, and quiet – was so unlike the brash, controlling attitude of the men in her village. Was it just because he was a kelpie, and unused to human communication? Or was it _him_? She wanted to find out.

There was a hesitation, as he mulled over her words, studying her face as if taking her measure. Eventually, he gave a slow nod, and swept one arm toward the path that led away from the loch. _Shall we?_ Even when capable of speech, he said much with gestures rather than words.

“One moment.” She turned away from the kelpie – Rumple, she reminded herself; she knew his name now, she should get used to using it – and held her arms out to Ruby. “Thank you,” she whispered in her ear, as she stood on her toes to hug her tight. “And tell Granny thank you for me.”

“I will. You’ll write, won’t you? Using the name we discussed?”

“Yes. Well…” Belle let her heels drop back to the ground, and released her hold on Ruby, feeling as she did so that she was severing her last physical tie to home. “Here goes.”

She bent down to pick up the heavy saddlebags, which had been packed with her clothes, basic food provisions, and anything else she might need for a journey. A cool hand closed over hers, stopping her, and Rumple picked up the bags himself, slinging them over his shoulder. He’d slung the bridle over the same shoulder, she saw, and kept one hand on it.

“Thank you,” she said, and with one final smile for Ruby she turned her back on the loch, and her village across the water, and resolutely started walking. She was aware of Rumple walking beside her, but he said nothing, only followed her lead when she took the fork in the path that would lead away from her village.

“So… Rumple. What’s it like to be a kelpie and live in the loch?” she asked, as the trees thinned and the path led out of the forest and onto open pastures.

He gave her question some thought, and finally answered, “Wet.”

A laugh bubbled out of her at his succinct response, and then continued, building up till she had to stop walking, hands braced on her knees as she let it out. All the stress of the past several days – the looming specter of a forced marriage, the revelations about kelpies and werewolves, the heartache of leaving her father behind, of saying goodbye to Ruby and her familiar life, the terror of setting out with this strange creature next to her for an unknown destination – it all came out in howling laughter, till she had tears streaming down her cheeks.

She stood up, finally, wiping her face. Rumple looked slightly frightened at her outburst, standing several steps away. She groped for a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes, then her nose, before taking a deep breath and sending a tremulous smile his way.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a trying few days. I’m better now, I promise. Shall we… see what’s at the end of this road?”

He nodded and started walking again. Belle fell in beside him, and with every step her breathing came easier. A part of her was still frightened, but there was another part that was excited. Her fate was her own to decide, and she was starting an adventure. She caught Rumple’s eye and smiled at him again, and it felt more genuine this time. She was charmed when the corners of his mouth twitched up, like he wasn’t quite sure _how_ to smile but was giving it his best effort. Oh, this journey was going to be fun.

She reached out a hand for his, and clasped it lightly, giving him time to pull away if he didn’t want to be touched. He looked down at their joined hands, looking puzzled, but gave no objection. Swinging their hands between them, they kept walking, toward the rising sun.


End file.
